Could You Follow Da Vinci’s Sleeping Schedule?

(Wisegeek) What is the Da Vinci Sleep Schedule?

The Da Vinci sleep schedule, also known as the “sleep of genius” or polyphasic sleep, is a type of sleep pattern which involves sleeping not more than 5 hours a day. Some experts are more strict, arguing that to follow the Da Vinci sleep schedule, a person must become accustomed to sleeping an average of two hours a day, which is how much Leonardo Da Vinci himself slept; others take the term more loosely, allowing practicants to sleep a few hours a night.

The Da Vinci sleep schedule is better suited to people who can control their daily schedules. Basically, the system requires followers to sleep in several 10-minute bursts, for a total of two hours a day. A variation of the Da Vinci sleep schedule requires people to sleep 20 minutes for every four hours that they are awake. This technique, known as “power napping” or the “Uberman’s sleep schedule” is actually in use in many corporations as a way to up production of their employees.